The Heart of a Man
by Starberry-Cupcake
Summary: Belle made a little mistake, but it means too much. Now she is afraid that Adam may be hurt. Can she convince him that she truly loves him? Can she convince him that she never saw him as a monster?


Well, hello there. I'm currently working on another Harry Potter fic, but after watching Beauty & the Beast for another time (I've watched it several times ever since I'm a little kid), I decided to make justice and write a fic. I hope you all enjoy it =)

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Beauty & the Beast; if I did, I'd be extremely proud of creating such a classic.

**Pairing:** Belle and Prince Adam/Beast (for an explanation on why I decided to go with "Adam", check the notes at the end of the fic)

**When it takes place: **after the Beast goes back to his human form/after the movie ends

**Raiting: **T, because K+ is supposed to be from 9 year olds ahead, and I don't consider this for 9 year olds.

* * *

><p><strong>The Heart of a Man<strong>

She shouldn't have said that. She knew it now, but she didn't mean it. They were both very stubborn, actually, they were very passionate when they had a fight…they were very passionate in many other circumstances as well. But still, she shouldn't have said that word. She must have known what it may implicate to him; but she said it, and now she couldn't just take it back.

"_Don't be such a monster!_" her own words floated on her mind, while she ran around the castle looking for him.

She didn't mean it that way, but the very moment the word came out of her mouth, she knew it had been a mistake.

They were fighting because Adam was mad at Cogsworth, something as trivial as that. Adam was too tired of all the things he had to do lately, being a prince again, and Cogsworth could be a little too pushy with the deadlines, so Adam lost his patience and vented all his stress on the poor majordomo. Belle, who happened to be there, just couldn't resist hearing the discussion and started arguing with Adam, as they occasionally did, trying to defend Cogsworth from the rage of her fiancée. She meant to say that he shouldn't be so aggressive with an innocent person, that he shouldn't blame the majordomo for reminding him what he had to do, but she used the wrong word.

After saying that sentence, the sound of her voice lingered in the room for a moment in which Cogsworth, along with Mrs. Potts and Lumière, also witnessing the scene, looked at both Belle and Adam with worry in their eyes.

"I'm sorry, Cogsworth" was all he said, before storming out of the room.

But it wasn't anger what he had in his eyes, and that was what worried Belle the most. It was sadness, sadness and fear.

As she remembered the scene again, she stopped at the corridor that led to the library. _Her_ library, as he called it, because he gave it to her back when he looked like the Beast. She never said "when he _was_ the Beast" because, for her, he had always been the same person, he just _looked_ different.

Belle walked slowly towards the doors of that room that she loved so much and had the feeling that he might be there. He found out, back when they were starting to know each other, what a mean of escape books could be, and started to turn to them just as much as she did. They were so much alike after all: he set himself away from people because he thought the world wouldn't understand him and she wanted to be somewhere else because of the same reason. If that was true and they were alike just like she felt, he was going to be there.

The doors slowly opened by her gentle touch and she walked inside the room that was drenched in the dim light of dusk. She found him sitting in the bottom of one of the stairs, holding a closed book between his hands.

"Adam?" she called him gently, approaching him carefully, fearing she might scare him away…again.

"You know, Belle, there's something constant in fairy tales." he said, still looking at the book that remained closed "The ogres, the dragons, the giants, they are all defeated." he lifted his head and looked at her straight in the eyes "They never get the princess"

Belle couldn't bear seeing him so deeply hurt. His eyes were so expressive to her; even if he lied or hid something from her, those deep blue eyes always told her the truth.

"That may be right, Adam," she sat beside him "But I'm not a princess" she took his face between her hands and looked at him "and you are _not_ a monster"

He tried to evade her sight, tried to hide his fear and his hesitation, but she wouldn't let him.

"I'm sorry for what I've said, you know I didn't mean it that way…"

"I know Belle, but you're right. I can't help it sometimes, I am rude and harsh…"

"And I am stubborn and difficult, aren't I?" she said with a smirk, quoting some of the things he stated about her in previous occasions "Nobody is perfect and no one is asking you to be so, Adam" she took his hand "You are allowed to make mistakes, you just need to learn from them instead of feeling miserable for what you did for such a long time"

He sighed, still a bit unsure but also more relieved.

"So…you don't think I'm a monster?" he intended to sound like if it wasn't a big deal, like if the answer she gave wouldn't be transcendental to him, but he failed miserably.

She giggled at how cute he sounded and looked, how vulnerable and fragile opposite to the appearance he used to have. But not even with that appearance he was a "monster", he was just a confused, lonely and sad being who regretted his mistakes and didn't give himself a second chance. He was a human being.

"I never thought you were, to be honest" she sought for his gaze "And I wouldn't have fallen in love with you if I thought you were one" she added when his eyes finally met hers.

He gave her a weak smile.

"I find it hard to believe that you fell in love with me…specially with the way I looked…" he let out a nervous laughter.

Belle shifted her position and kneeled beside him, taking his face with her hands in a soft but determined move, pressing her lips against his with passion. Her intention was to convince him that she loved him truly, but things tended to get a little confusing when she was close to him. Her hands moved, intertwining her fingers with his soft hair, while Adam went from confusion to joy and then just instinct, holding her from her waist and deepening the kiss.

It just took that to make Belle lose her train of thought completely and let him take over her. She wrapped her arms around his neck, closing the gap between their bodies, and let him just do whatever he wanted with her. It was so not her, but she couldn't help it sometimes. She was strong, yes, and usually initiated most of their encounters; but he had a certain power over her, a power that she didn't mind him having. But she wasn't going to let him have total control over her, not even if he was doing an amazing job at it.

Belle pulled back slightly, feeling Adam's disappointment and grinning with a bit of satisfaction at it. But she wasn't intending to let him waiting for long. She sat on his lap, wrapped her arms around his neck again, and took control over the kiss with determination. Adam's hands caressed her back tenderly, keeping her close to him and tasting her warm lips as if their flavor was the most precious thing he had ever known. He was holding his composure well enough, he thought, not wanting Belle to feel as if he was fighting for taking control…but then Belle moved her hands over his chest, until she reached his fast beating heart, and parted.

"This is what I love, the heart of the man you are." She said with loving eyes.

He had never felt so much love for him in his life and couldn't hold himself any longer. He embraced her strongly and locked his lips with hers together one more time, impatient this time, demanding and hungry, owning her mouth, her lips and her tongue in a few seconds. Belle was overwhelmed, and in any other moment would have considered it too rough or too violent, but she knew it was his way of showing what he failed to say in words. And, frankly, she didn't mind as much as she may have wanted to admit. She could just respond with a soft moan that assured Adam he was doing something well. He was doing _everything_ well.

"Ehem…Sir?" Lumière's voice reached the couple from the door of the library.

Belle and Adam ended the kiss abruptly, turning towards the maître in their awkward and uncomfortable position.

"Sorry for interrupting," he said with a playful smirk on his face "but I'm afraid we require your presence…and believe me, Your Majesty, I of all people wouldn't interrupt this kind of situation if it wasn't a matter of great importance"

"Of course" Adam answered, nervous "I'll be there in a second"

Lumière noded, still smiling, and closed the door behind him.

"Well, I guess I should go…" Adam got up and took Belle's hand to help her up as well.

"I guess so" she sighed "Adam, that was…"

"Too rough?" he interrupted "Because I was trying to hold back…"

"It was perfect" she reassured him with a peck on the lips.

"See you for dinner?" he asked with a smile.

"Only if you dance with me afterwards" she replied.

"You don't even need to ask" he kissed her cheek gently and left the room.

Belle sighed dreamily and sat on the stairs again, touching the corner of the abandoned book with one hand. She took it between her hands, looked at it and smiled. She didn't see fairy tales as she used to now, because she knew that life was much more magical.

**The End**

* * *

><p>Well, what do you think? I was a bit hesitant about writing a Beauty &amp; the Beast fic, I love the movie too much and I didn't want to ruin it in any way. I wanted Belle to make a mistake here, to be the one who had to apologize and the one who pointed out that nobody is perfect, not even<em> her<em>. I love the Beast's character, his evolution (both in character and in the magnificent design of Glen Keane) and his complexity as an anti-hero makes it much more easy to relate to him, to change our minds about him and to make this movie anything but simple. I believe that the best Disney movies are the ones that don't underestimate the audience.

Now, for the **explanation on the Beast's name**. Many of you may know the story already, but in case you don't, I'll tell you a bit about the matter. I've said it on tumblr before, so I'll repeat myself a bit.

The canon vs not canon doubt comes from the fact that the whole creative team of Beauty & the Beast (in special edition DVDs) and also particularly Glen Keane himself (if I'm not mistaken, in a book called "The Art of Disney's Neglected Prince") said they didn't make a name for the Beast and he remained unnamed until the end of the movie.

Between the movie and the "The D Show" CD ROM, some fan made names came up, the one I consider more "official-ish" was Stephan, introduced by KiraJenLove here on , who said she heard it in a parade by a Disney source after the movie was released. Some people also use "Vincent" because of the 80s-early 90s tv series with Ron Perlman.

When the CD Rom came out, they brought the name "Adam" up and, since it's Disney source, it was officially consiered and most of the fans accepted it as "canon". It is "Disney official" but neither the creative team nor the animator of the Beast (Glen Keane) had anything to do with the choice, so some fans chose not to accept it.

I am used to Adam now, so I decided to use it.

I hope you've liked the fic and I'd appreciate reviews, if you have the time =) I think my english is improving, but I'm not sure.

Read you in another story!

**Luly**


End file.
